Editing Agiorgitiko (section)

==History==
[[File:Herakles und Loewe.jpg|left|thumb|In Nemea, the Agiorgitiko wine of the region is nicknamed the "Blood of Hercules" based on the legend of the Greek hero slaying the Nemean lion.]]
[[Ampelographers]] believe that Agiorgitiko is indigenous to Greece, likely the [[Argolis]] and [[Corinthia]] regions of Peloponnese, but while [[apocryphal]] tales exist of the grape being [[Ancient Greece (wine)|cultivated in Ancient Greece]], there is no historical or genetic evidence to support those tales.<ref name="Wine Grapes"/> In Nemea, the wine made from Agiorgitiko is [[nickname]]d the "Blood of [[Hercules]]"<ref>David Rosengarten ''"[https://archive.today/20130620020846/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/102870913.html?dids=102870913:102870913&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+16,+1991&author=By+David+Rosengarten&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=WINE+AT+THE+TABLE+New+Greek+Pitch:+No+Resin&pqatl=google WINE AT THE TABLE New Greek Pitch: No Resin]"'' Newsday, October 16th, 1991</ref><ref>Derek Gatopoulos ''"[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-nov-24-adfg-hercules24-story.html Popular Greek Wine Is Rained Out for the Year]"'' Los Angeles Times, November 24th, 2002</ref> because of the legend that after the Greek hero slayed the [[Nemean lion]], it was the local Nemean wine made from Agiorgitiko that he consumed.<ref name="Clarke encyclopedia">O. Clarke ''Oz Clarke's Encyclopedia of Wine'' pg 261 Time Warner Books, London 2003 {{ISBN|0-316-72654-0}}</ref> (Some versions of the story has Hercules consuming the wine before slaying the lion.)<ref>Nestor Imports ''"[http://www.nestorimports.com/greek-grape-varietals/ Greek Grape Varietals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604091635/http://www.nestorimports.com/greek-grape-varietals/ |date=2014-06-04 }}"'' Accessed: June 15th, 2013</ref> Another legend states that the wine was a palace favorite of king [[Agamemnon]] who led the Greek forces during the [[Trojan War]].<ref name="MacNeil">K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 611 Workman Publishing 2001 {{ISBN|1-56305-434-5}}</ref>

The name ''Agiorgitiko'' means literally "St. George's grape" which could be a reference to the chapel of [[Saint George]] in Nemea or to [[Saint George's Day]] which is celebrated in November around [[harvest (wine)|harvest time]] in some [[Eastern Orthodox Churches]]. However, in many of the Greek areas where Agiorgitiko is grown, Saint George's Day is celebrated in April or May which cast doubt on the theory that the grape's name is affiliated with the [[feast day]]. Another theory is that the grape is named after one of [[Agios Georgios (disambiguation)|the many Greek towns]] named after the Christian saint.<ref name="Wine Grapes"/>

The main land owners in Nemea was the church and the monks from St George monastery of Feneos would tend to the vineyards and harvest the grapes to make wine at the monastery for communion. This is another theory of the naming of the St George wine is after the St George monastery of Feneos.